By Susannah Cullinane, CNN<\/p>\n
A tiger handler linked to \u201cTiger King\u201d Joe Exotic was killed Saturday by one of the big cats at the Oklahoma preserve where he worked, according to the facility.<\/p>\n
Ryan Easley \u201clost his life in an accident involving a tiger under his care,\u201d the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve said in a statement posted to Facebook.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis tragedy is a painful reminder of both the beauty and unpredictability of the natural world. Ryan understood those risks \u2014 not out of recklessness but out of love,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Describing Easley as \u201ca passionate advocate for wildlife conservation,\u201d Growler Pines said he had dedicated his life to protecting and caring for big cats.<\/p>\n The Hugo, Oklahoma, facility was established as ShowMe Tigers \u2014 Easley\u2019s traveling big cat show \u2014 increased its focus on conservation and looked for a permanent home where visitors could learn about its retired circus animals, according to the Growler Pines website.<\/p>\n Easley was attacked during an act with a tiger at Growler Pines and was not breathing when deputies arrived, CNN affiliate KXII <\/a>said, citing the Choctaw County Sheriff.<\/p>\n Animal rights groups reacted to news of Easley\u2019s death with calls to end the use of wild animals in performances.<\/p>\n One of its investigators had spent weeks undercover working and traveling with ShowMe Tigers, watching the animals being forced to perform tricks, said Humane World for Animals<\/a>, formerly called the Humane Society of the United States, in a statement Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cRyan Easley\u2019s death was a sad and preventable tragedy,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n PETA said Easley had gotten his tigers from Joseph Maldonado, popularly known as Joe Exotic, and Bhagavan \u2018Doc\u2019 Antle, both of whom appeared in the Netflix series \u201cTiger King.\u201d The tigers had boarded at Joe Exotic\u2019s zoo in winter when not touring, it said in a statement on Easley\u2019s death<\/a> Sunday.<\/p>\n Joe Exotic \u2014 whose real name is Joe Maldonado \u2014 expressed his condolences on social media after Easley\u2019s death, the Oklahoman reported<\/a>. \u201cPrayers go out to his family,\u201d it quoted him as saying. \u201cRyan took great care of his animals! He loved everyone of those tigers and was an advocate for tigers as well as elephants.\u201d The Oklahoman said the posts were later removed from Instagram and Facebook.<\/p>\n There have been a number of attacks by captive big cats in recent years, including a fatal tiger attack on a keeper at the Palm Beach Zoo<\/a> in 2016 and another by a lion at a North California animal sanctuary <\/a>in 2013.<\/p>\n